Lost
by blackraven23
Summary: She never gets lost. When she was young, she went for a walk in the woods and disappeared to a small cottage, watching the roses bloom. One day she'll bring him there. But what if she loses herself before then? NejiTen [One Shot]


1

She never gets lost. When she was young, she went for a walk in the woods. She went too far and everyone was worried and looking for her. All those ANBU and shinobi, such a waste. They couldn't detect her chakra, or figure out where she went off the trail. She came back three days later, unharmed and not aware that her disappearance had caused such a ruckus.

People were beginning to wonder if she had purposely ran away to tell the village's secrets to other countries' ninjas. The whole town was in uproar after the third day, until she set foot in the village again late that afternoon. She finally managed to reassure everyone with her large brown eyes and meek voice that, no, she had not run away and no, she was _not_ a traitor to the entire village.

She had, in fact, known where she had been going the entire time. It was a tiny cottage, nestled deep inside the woods. She had stayed there, watching the roses bloom. She hadn't told anyone but him, and he had kept it a secret inside of his heart. He never knew she was like that, but she reassured him with a small smile and said that one day she would take him there and he would know why she went.

He hoped dearly that she would fulfill her promise to him.

* * *

2

When she was 7, she disappeared again. Only this time it was longer, but no one was sent to find her. She had disappeared inside of her mind this time. Only he could see it, see how she had fled to the darkened corners of her consciousness in an attempt to forget what she saw, what she heard, and what she did not want to remember.

It was the day that her mother was killed. Her father had long ago disappeared, before she was even born, so all she had was her mother. Her eyes, he could never forget, were so filled with pain; it seared his soul just looking at them. She was almost unrecognizable from the happy-go-lucky girl he knew, with those sorrowful eyes looking out into the distance where the blood-red sun was setting on the worst day of her life. She had walked away from the policeman solemnly, but he never saw her cry.

She sat in her new apartment alone, in the middle of the carpeted living room, staring at nothing at all. A week had passed quickly, the days a blur of sepia-tones and muffled voices telling her their sympathies. For days she had clung to the shred of hope that perhaps this was all a bad dream, that this was only a nightmare and she would wake soon, sweaty and panting and be happy to realize that her mother was still alive. But as the days passed her hope started to wane and fade, and she had to accept the truth. Her mother was dead, and was never going to come back no matter how much she denied it. This was no dream.

She sat there for many hours, still staring at the blank wall, as if searching for something. He never saw her cry, because she never allowed herself to. She bottled up her emotions and stored them far inside of herself, in hopes that if the glass bottles that they were in never broke, neither would her heart.

* * *

3

He took it upon himself, unconsciously of course, to bring her back from where she had gone to. The small smiles and very, very, very, granting that there was no one around to witness them, rare hugs, worked wonders and soon she was back to normal, or so it seemed.

His eyes were the only ones to see the tinge of sadness that weighted her slim shoulders, and made her steps slower and her voice, albeit how little, quieter. His eyes were the only ones to see the fakeness behind most of her laughs and smiles, to see the true girl hugging herself and shaking everywhere as sobs wracked her lithe body.

He was the only one to see, but he did nothing to ease her pain, because as strong as he was, there was nothing he could do.

His eyes saw everything, everything except the one thing that would cure her from her self- anguish.

* * *

4

It wasn't until they were 15 that he ever saw that level of pain again. Sure, he had seen her in a fair share of missions when she was in physical distress, or serious pain. But never like this. This distorted her delicate features until he began to wonder if this was really her standing in front of him, or some sort of illusion cast by an enemy ninja. But somewhere, deep inside of him, he knew that this was really her, and knew this was really the pain that _he_ had caused.

* * *

5

That night. He had known what she was going to say, and although he would never admit it to anyone, especially to himself, he was scared to hear the words she would utter.

* * *

6

"I love you… Neji…"

He knew. He didn't know for how long he had known, but he had noticed it. Noticed the small smiles she sent his way, the way she sometimes looked at him out of the corner of her eye, as if he wouldn't catch her doing it. The way he had felt happiness exuding from her as she watched him admire the birds, and the way she would comment quietly on the azure colored sky sometimes after they had exhausted themselves training and were relaxing on the ground, looking up at the clouds.

No, no, no, no, this wasn't how fate was supposed to work, this wasn't supposed to happen. He had a single goal in life, and it had nothing to do with her. His focus was on training and getting stronger and destroying the Main House and revenging his father. It had nothing, nothing to do with her, and here she was, exposing herself and her weaknesses to him, and he suddenly had the desire to take advantage of her weakness and—no, he wouldn't go on, he couldn't. She couldn't, shouldn't love him. No. It was wrong to think about another loving him, it just wasn't possible.

Her eyes, when he turned to face her, for his back had been to her the entire time, even when she said the words that burned him, were so expectant. But his resolve and his faith in destiny strengthened him for what he knew would break them both. A lump grew in his throat and something burned in his chest painfully as he turned his head to look into her eyes as if to confirm the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"No. I can't"

The pain in her eyes, he could feel it too. That burning in his chest, it was coming from something he didn't know he currently had anymore. His heart. Her eyes, he could barely stand to see them this way. They were breaking his ice-cold exterior, and his face muscles almost softened at her anguished gaze. It broke his new-found-but-too-late heart into such small hard sharp pieces that it would hurt too much to pick them up and attempt to, with bleeding hands, fit the impossible pieces back together to make it whole again. He turned away from her, he could not bear to see her like this, so weak, so vulnerable, so pained that it made him forget his own vulnerability for a moment. Her.

And before he could change his mind or speak again, she ran away, tears blurring her vision as she stumbled home blindly. Breaking through the brush and bramble, completely forgetting her ninja training of traveling through the trees and not showing emotions, and ignoring the nasty cuts and bruises she received that she was too numb to feel anyways, she made her way back to her empty apartment.

It was only until she was safe under her covers, still fully clothed and dirty, that she finally let the foreign feeling of tears slide down her cheeks to stain her pillowcase with an unspoken sorrow.

* * *

7

He didn't know how long he had stood there, staring blankly into the empty darkness, now that his teammate had left, like a stone statue. That is, until something had known, but chosen to ignore or pass off as something else, reminded him cruelly in the back of his mind. He wasn't sure what made him remember this, or what had caused him to feel this way, since his chest was still pounding and his breaths were hard to take because of the burning sensation that had spread into his heaving lungs.

He immediately snapped back to reality with a twist of his head, looking at the spot that she had occupied a long time ago. Or at least it seemed like a long time ago. He abruptly tore off in the direction that his teammate had gone, hoping hope against hope that she had not disappeared again.

* * *

8

He appeared so quickly and silently behind her that she didn't know he was there. That was, until he touched the small of her back lightly with the palm of his hand, his fingers touching the smooth surface of her rumpled silk shirt. She was quickly stuffing a small black suitcase full of her belongings and stiffened at the contact, before whipping around, kunai in hand, cold steel pressed to his throat in a flash.

Seeing that it was only him, she hurriedly returned the kunai to its holster on her leg and let her eyes look down in shame. How could she face him after the truths she had told him? 'Love is only a weakness that can be used against you', that's surely what he thought. But, she had heard Lee talk differently, saying that the only reason he persisted in becoming a better ninja than before was because he wanted to protect his precious Sakura. She had seen Shikamaru actually work to save or defend Ino when it was needed against adversaries far stronger than him and win. She, personally, had thought love to always be a strength, not a weakness, but did not think that the Hyuuga prodigy agreed with her.

Suddenly a hand lifted her chin and she looked into the pale lavender eyes of Neji. The only man she had ever let into her heart, and the only one she had let break it. She had opened the bottles and poured out her feelings, but he had smashed the glass easily with three words of his own. She was mixed up and confused as to why he had followed her. There was nothing he could do now that would hurt her more, and that was clearly his intention, to make her stop loving him by hurting her so greatly that she would hate him—

His lips brushed hers and she almost pulled away in surprise. She hadn't even noticed him getting closer to her, his nose touching hers lightly or his breath on her lips. Her lips opened in pure astonishment as he deepened the kiss. His tongue touched hers a little tentatively at first, but then more confidently as she responded by involuntarily moaning against his mouth.

Their growing passions pulled them together as their tongues danced together in sensuous pleasure, his free arm wrapped around her waist. She ardently molded her curves to his firm muscles, arms curling around his neck and around his back. A fire connected them and they reveled in its warmth and security, as they also marveled at its dangerous flames and endless power.

And when they were so close that they were almost one, Tenten lost herself for the first time ever. But there was Neji to guide her home again, while safely held in his strong and capable arms.

* * *

9

Neji awoke to an bright and cold room, (his room, pervs, and yes he was alone) and was surprised to see that it was unusually bright. He blinked several times to get rid of the spots that were dancing in his eyes before deciding that it had to be at least two hours later than he normally woke up. Why hadn't Lee or Tenten…? The previous nights' memories tumbled back to him and he shook his still sleep-groggy brain as he tried to decipher the fuzzy recollection.

He vaguely remembered, after their astonishingly passionate kiss, whispering, "I love you, Tenten…" and a breathless goodbye, before disappearing into the moonlit night. He had jumped easily over buildings, the events playing over in his mind, going home, and immediately fell fast asleep, her scent still playing across his senses.

He got up and quickly went over to her apartment, after getting dressed but not bothering to eat anything as anticipation made him forget his hunger. He peered into her empty room before popping open the window, dodging the several kunais flung his way and looking around her bare room for some sign as to where she might be.

Finally spotting something on her otherwise bare nightstand, he crossed the room easily and sat on her creaking bed before picking up the light note. Delicately, like no one else he knew could, written, were a few words from the missing weapons mistress.

_Follow me to where the roses bloom_

* * *

10

He stopped before the small cottage, and knew it to be the right place. There were about a hundred wild rose plants around him, a few domesticated ones, all with bright splashes of colors covering at least half the plant. The smell was somewhat overwhelming, but it gave him a lightheaded feeling (haha hes high on roses) and after a while he got used to it. He also knew that it was the right place because there was Tenten, sitting in a small chair, sipping lemonade and gazing at the sky and the flowering roses occasionally like only Shikamaru could look at the clouds.

He sat with her, watching blossoming roses quietly as well, just appreciating the beauty that they held with the one he loved. Later she taught him about the delicacies of life and he finally understood the magic of a blooming rose.

* * *

11

Perhaps magic was only real because your true love showed it to you.

Love, the most ancient form of magic, had changed Tenten as well, for now she had no sadness in her eyes, her laughs and smiles were real and full of happiness. He supposed that magic was much more powerful than Fate because it had changed _his_ destiny. He only supposed until her soft lips met his and he forgot everything else.

She had fulfilled her promise and much more in his previously empty life. She loved him like no one else could and he loved her more than he knew. She was his strength now, and she couldn't protest as he held her close to him and he couldn't object as she hugged him even closer.

End.

* * *

um.. yay? i like nejiten.. its so sweet.. 

review if u want or whatever..


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